What Were You Thinking, Man?
by Angoliel
Summary: Just a little look into Ben Gates' point of view as he got Dr. Chase's fingerprints. WHY did he need that entire glass of champagne? Read to find out!


**Author's Notes:** I don't own any of these characters. I'm just playing,

**Summary:** Just a little feild day in Ben's head. What was he thinking, man, when he drank that entire glass of champagne!

* * *

Walking up the stairs, Ben smoothed his hair back once more. It wasn't often he could attend gala events, but he mourned the fact that he couldn't enjoy himself while he was here. Passing a waiter who carried a tray of champagne, he took a couple of glasses by the stems and looked around for his target. Dr. Abigail Chase.

There, on the far side of the room. She looked bored.

"Go get her, man," Riley whispered in his ear. How Ben wished he would just shut up!

Crossing the large room, moving between people, Ben finally reached her just as she turned her back.

"For you," he smiled, holding out a glass of champagne.

She turned and Ben's heart almost stopped. She was beyond beautiful...she was...insanely lovely.

"Oh, Mr. Brown," she smiled, taking a step closer and accepting the glass. "What are you doing here?"

_Excuse...need an excuse, _Ben thought hurriedly to himself.

"I uh...made a last minute donation...a pretty big one," he finally said.

"Is that that hot girl?" Riley asked in his ear piece. "How does she look?"

_"Riley my friend...shut up!"_ Ben mentally screamed. _"I can't concentrate, and I'm already nervous!"_

"Well, on that subject thank you for your wonderful gift," Dr. Chase smiled.

"Oh you did get it? Oh, good."

_Yes, she got the pin. Now I don't have to worry about the finger prints on the keypad._

"You know, I couldn't accept something like that normally, but erm," Dr. Chase chuckled. "I _really_ want it."

The two laughed, and Ben could hear Riley sighing heavily in the ear piece.

"Well, you _needed _it," Ben offered, jovially.

"Come on, Romeo, get out of there."

_Riley,_ Ben thought. _I never thought I'd want to slug you._

Ben took a moment to check on the glass she was holding. Her fingers were wrapped around the flute, near the top. Good, good.

"I have been wondering though," Dr. Chase went on. "What the engraving indicated...on the pipe that Big Foot took."

Before Ben could formulate a dodgy answer, another man walked up. "Hi," the newcomer said hesitantly.

Ben's eyebrows knit together. A third party...this wasn't good.

"Here you go," the man offered another champagne glass to Dr. Chase.

_Yippee, now I can take the glass!_ Ben thought to himself.

"Oh, er...Dr. Herbert, this is Mr. Brown," Dr. Chase introduced them.

"Hi," Dr. Herbert smiled a little. His tone was suspicious and Ben wondered if he was trying to date good Dr. Chase.

"Hi there," Ben smiled goodnaturedly.

"Who's the stiff," Riley asked, his voice betraying his unimpressed view of Dr. Herbert.

"Well, here, why don't you let me take _that_," Gates offered, putting on the appearance of trying to be helpful, and breaking the uncomfortable gaze between him and the new member of the conversation, "so you can take _that_ off his hands."

Ben was careful to take Dr. Chase's glass by its stand, to avoid the risk of compromising the fingerprints.

Dr. Herbert fairly beamed at the proposition. Dr. Chase didn't seem too thrilled with her 'thank you' and Ben almost laughed.

"A toast," Ben proposed searching for a way to escape with the champagne glass. "Yeah? To high treason."

Dr. Chase looked at him oddly. Dr. Herbert wrinkled his brow, not exactly understanding the situation.

"That's what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration," Ben nodded, explaining himself, moving into his thoughtful, history-loving self. "Had we lost the war, they would have been hanged, beheaded, drawn and quartered, and oh! Oh, my _personal_ favorite...have their entrails cut out and _burned."_

By the look on Dr. Chase's face, she was just imagining the horror of war, and what could have happened to the Founding Fathers. Ben could have kicked himself. He wanted to leave a good impression before he stole the Declaration, and it wasn't working. What was he talking about? He hadn't stolen anything before. What if he got found out? What if he seemed suspicious? Ben's nerves started jumping, and he paused to calm himself.

"So, here's to the men who did what was considered wrong in order to do what they knew was right."

Dr. Chase gave him a half-smile of approval. Ben almost sighed. She was so pretty, and her smile, however vague, only made her more so.

"What they knew was right," he murmured, not realizing he spoke again. Bringing the champagne to his lips, Ben had intended to only take a sip, just for the toast. When the flavor of the alcohol met his tongue, however, a wild need to drink more passed over him. Before he knew it, he was leaning way back to drink the entire thing. But it tasted so good, and when he finished, he felt a little more relaxed. Ready to go through with what he was about to do.

A little carelessly, he straightened up and almost spilled the last few drops of his glass. He looked up to see the doctors looking at him queerly.

"Well," he smiled, nodding at them sheepishly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," they replied quietly, and Ben made his exit.

Abigail looked after the retreating form of Mr. Paul Brown. Was he always so eccentric?

"He's a strange fellow," Dr. Herbert pronounced at last. Dr. Chase couldn't help but agree and quirked a smile at her co-worker.


End file.
